Qatar meet USA in opener as Beach Handball World Championship kicks off

Doha, Qatar: The six time Asian title holders Qatar will set their eyes on the elusive global title when they begin their campaign at the 11th IHF Men...

Doha, Qatar: The six-time Asian title-holders Qatar will set their eyes on the elusive global title when they begin their campaign at the 11th IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship at the Pingtan International Beach Sports Base in Pingtan Island, China, today. Qatar, who have twice finished as bronze medallists at the World Championships, in 2016 and 2016, are placed in a challenging Group D, along with Germany, Uruguay, and the United States in the preliminary round which kicks off this afternoon. Qatar will take on the United States in their opening match today at 11:40 am Doha time. Qatar will meet Uruguay and Germany tomorrow in their remaining Group D matches. The top three teams from each group will advance to the main round, cutting down the number of teams from 16 to 12. The Qatari team, coached by Khaled Hassan, underwent extensive preparation ahead of the Championship, including a training camp in Cadiz, Spain before heading to China. The reigning Asian champions played a friendly tournament in Spain, where Qatar players fine-tuned their preparations before meeting the world’s best.    Team Qatar boasts of seasoned campaigners in the caliber of Mohsen Al Yafei, Mohammed Zaky, Hani Kakhi, and Zarko Markovic who are expected to play key roles during the Championship. The team also includes Osama Al Toumi, Amir Nour Al Din Dingir, Ali Ahmed Mohamed, Abdel Razzaq Murad, and Sayed Ali Qenawi. Qatar has a rich heritage in beach handball, having won multiple accolades at the regional, Asian and global levels. The team won the 2023 Beach Handball Global Tour and secured a silver medal at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, USA. Apart from the outstanding record at the Asian Championship, Qatar also won gold medals at the Asian Beach Games in 2012, 2014, and 2016, as well as at the 2nd Gulf Beach Games at home in 2015. The tournament in China marks Qatar’s seventh consecutive appearance in the World Championship, a streak that began with the 2010 edition in Turkey, where they finished in the 10th position. In the subsequent tournaments, Qatar managed to achieve notable finishes: seventh place in Oman (2012), third place in Brazil (2014) and Hungary (2016), ninth place in Russia (2018), and fifth place in Greece two years ago. Following the preliminary round, the top three teams from each group will advance to the main round, forming two groups of six. The top four teams from these groups will advance to the quarter-finals, leading to the semi-finals and final on June 23. The tournament will be streamed live on International Handball Federation's YouTube channel, allowing fans to follow Qatar’s journey at the championship.